NOTE TAKING AND MAPPING IN THE CONSECUTIVEINTERPRETING BY LEGAL GROUP OF POST GRADUATE STUDENTS

OF UDAYANA UNIVERSITY I Wayan Suryasa

Post Graduate Student of Translation Studies, Udayana University suryasa@stikom-bali.ac.id

ABSTRACT

The title of this paper is “Note Taking and Mapping in the Consecutive Interpretingby Legal Group of Post Graduate Students of Udayana University”. It analyzedfocusing on what strategies applied to interpret the legal text from English into Indonesia language.The text itself was interpreted by interpreter team of legal group. The source test was collecteddescriptively taken from internet. The interpreters was applied the interpreting strategies theory by(Kade cited in Pochhacker, 2004:11). The finding of this analysis, there were two of point ofconsecutive interpreting applied by the interpreters i.e. (1) The strategy was use a note taking in theconsecutive interpreting, and (2) the interpreters mind mapping works in note taking. This paperobtain a significance study about how the mind of power works and the note taking strategy used bythe post graduate student of translation studies at Udayana University.

Key words: consecutive interpreting, note taking, mapping

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Study

Interpreting is a form of translation in which a first

and final rendition in another language is produced on the

basis of a one-time presentation of an utterance in a source

language. (Kade cited in Pochhacker, 2004:11)

Unlike translation, interpreting is a spontaneous activity.

The interpreter should concentrate well during the task to be

able to receive and understand the incoming message and then

express the meaning in the target language. During the process

of interpreting, the interpreter has to listen carefully,

understand the message, remember it and think fast and

reproduce the translation soon. There is no time to consult

any dictionary. These overlapping series of cognitive

processing activities require high level of concentration.

(The picture was taken from the practice of consecutive interpreting at class

(2013))

Interpreters on-site interpreting performance is shaped by

three major factors: (a) the interpreter’s interpreting

competence, (b) on-site cognitive conditions and (c)

strategies and standards of interpreting (Wang, 2009). The

following figure shows how the interpreting performance is

shaped by the three major forces in combination.

Figure 1: Major shaping factors of interpreting performance

Strategies in interpreting refer to the tactics

interpreters employ to deal with problems in cognitive

processing and inter-lingual and intercultural communication

in interpreting. Standards of interpreting can be defined as

the shared values and concepts among interpreters of the

profession and users of interpreting service on the generally-

On-sitecognitiveconditions

Interpretingcompetence

Strategies andnorms of

interpreting

Interpreting performance

accepted interpreting methods and strategies and on the right

and proper interpreting behaviors (Wang, 2009).

The present research is a descriptive study of strategies

and practices in consecutive interpreting based on the

observation one group of four in translation studies class.

1.2 The Problem of the Study

In this paper, there are some problems that appeared and

need to be answered base on the theories collected concern

with oral translation. The oral translation itself applied in

the consecutive interpreting. The problems are formulated

into:

1. What strategies applied by interpreters to interpret a

legal text?

2. How mind mapping works in note taking by the

interpreters in the consecutive interpreting?

2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Consecutive Interpreting

There are four modes of interpreting; liaison, consecutive,

simultaneous and whispering interpreting. Consecutive

interpretation allows the interpreter to produce their

interpretation right after the speaker finishes his/her

utterance. Meanwhile, simultaneous interpretation takes place

during and even in the same time period as the original

speech. Consecutive interpreting gives chances to the

interpreting to take note and this is very necessary in the

interpreting process. Some information like numbers, proper

nouns, and any complicated information which are impossible to

be remembered all together had better be noted. The

interpreter has their own way to make a note. Usually, when

there are more than two working languages, an installation for

either simultaneous or consecutive interpretation should be

provided. In the latter case, one language will be

consecutively interpreted in the room itself and the others

from booths. The speaker does not have to talk slowly, as

normal speed is better for comprehension. Consecutive

interpreting is recommended if accuracy is of top priority.

Consecutive Interpreting(The picture was taken from

http://www.calliope-interpreters.org/en/conference_interpreters.htm)

Qualified interpreters should have a language competence

both in the source and target language. This is the most

important point. Besides, they should also care about the code

ethics in interpreting. The knowledge about the subject matter

is very important. Interpreting in certain topics like

scientific, economic, legal, culture, and any other special

topics require the knowledge about those related fields. There

are many terminologies which the interpreter should know. No

matter how brilliant the interpreters are, if they don’t know

the terms, they will find some difficulties. Therefore, it is

good to get to know the topic or if possible the copy material

prior to the work. Preparation and experience will contribute

almost sixty percent of confidence. To the interpreters,

especially the consecutive one as sometime they need to speak

in front of the people (they are not in the booth like in the

case of simultaneous interpreters) it will be much helpful for

them to have the confidence in order not to get stuck.

On the day of the work, the interpreters will feel the

tense. The overlapping series of cognitive process require

high level of concentration. In this case the interpreter

should have the techniques to support themselves. The tense

and the loads will affect the cognitive process. Memory plays

a very important role. In the case the speakers talk a lot

with loads of specific information, note taking will be very

helpful. The interpreters should know the note-taking

techniques in interpreting which are discussed in the

following section.

3. RESEARCH METHOD

There are three kinds of research based on the location of

the research i.e. library research, laboratory and field

research (Bungin, 2005: 40-41). In this paper, the field

research method is applied by collecting some theories and

information about consecutive interpreting,

The data source of this study is a verbal data, which were

taken from one group i.e. legal group (six students) of four

groups in translation class. The data is collected by closely

observing the interpreter interpret the English language into

Bahasa. By observing the data source, it was founded two

significance study discussed of this study, e.g. the mind

mapping works and note taking by interpreters.

4. DISCUSSION

NOTE TAKING AND MAPPING IN THE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING BYLEGAL GROUP OF POST GRADUATE STUDENTS OF UDAYANA UNIVERSITY

4.1 Note Taking in the Consecutive Interpreting

Seleskovitch (1978) cited in Santiago (2004) explains

that during the process of interpretation, there is a lot of

information that is registered to the interpreters’ short term

memory. If the interpreters do not do anything with this

information, it will soon disappear. This is one of the

reasons why the interpreters discard the form of the source

text. Smith (1985) quoted in Santiago (2004) states that,

“Short term memory has a very limited duration.  We can

remember six or seven items only as long as we give all of our

attention to them” (Smith, 38).  If an interpreters try to

retain the form of a source utterance their short-term memory

it will be quickly filled with individual lexical items, which

may not even compose a full sentence.  If the interpreter then

attempts to find a corresponding lexical item in the target

language for each of the source language forms in their short-

term memory all of their attention will be wasted on

translating these six items rather than attending to the

incoming message, as Smith points out, “as long as pay

attention to short-term memory we cannot attend to anything

else” (Smith, 38). 

Hanh (2006) sums up the advantages of employing note taking

techniques in consecutive interpreting as follows:

“Firstly, notes improve concentration; preventdistraction, thus facilitating the reception andanalysis of the speech. Secondly, notes help theinterpreter relieve the memory. Thirdly, as mnemonic,notes activate the memory of the interpreter with cuesor signals that call up the information in the speech.With notes, the main ideas, the secondary elements andthe links among them become clear and easier for theinterpreter to visualize. Finally, notes can also beused to highlight missing details, inconsistencieswithin the speech and anything implausible that needsattention latter. Thus notes play an important part inconsecutive interpreting.

4.2 How Mind Mapping Works in Note Taking of Consecutive

Interpreting

Different people have different way of thinking; this is

due to the fact that the brain works in different ways. Our

thinking and reasoning follow a structure that is personal to

us. There are certain "programs" loaded in our consciousness.

According to experts in mind mapping, these programs are like

our "natural thinking software". The brain works according to

certain basic principles, and we can use mind maps to take

advantage of them to improve our creativity and memory.

Humans are born with special "brain-programs" to be able

to learn and memorize everything they experience during their

lifetime. We have one "brain-program" to remember special

occasions, one program that remembers pictures, one that

remembers structures, etc. The fantastic thing about mind

mapping is that it uses these existing "brain-programs" and

refines them. Mind mapping simply optimizes the power that you

already have in your mind. Therefore, mind mapping is one of

the very best methods to optimize ones learning capacities and

understanding of how the elements of complex structures are

connected (Ingemann).

Now we proceed to the relation between mind mapping and

note taking in interpreting. Mind mapping as mentioned above

is the technique to optimize the power that we already have in

our mind. The question is HOW. Then we shall see how the mind

mapping techniques works in consecutive interpreting.

Once the speaker starts speaking, the interpreter should

register the information to their brain. The information in

their head is like a map which is not yet arranged. Then, they

should arrange the information and organize them fast in their

mind and write it down in their note. It is of course

impossible to write down all the information in words due to

the limited time. The interpreters should write down the main

points only and connect one event or category to another. The

use of abbreviation will help. There is no such a must rule in

abbreviation. It is up to the interpreters; they have their

own way in managing with abbreviations.

Consecutive interpreting deals with memorizing more

information compared to the simultaneous one. Accuracy is of

top priority because when the speaker pauses the interpreter

will take turn to produce the interpretation and the audience

will clearly hear the interpretation without intervention from

another speaker. In this case the interpreter should remember

the message and organize them well. And the mind mapping will

play an important role in this kind of situation.

After reading about mind mapping tips from Ingemann, this

paper tries to connect mind mapping steps with note taking in

consecutive interpreting. The followings are the steps worth a

try:

Relax your mind.

Register the information from the speaker and concentrate

well. Do not let all other things distract you. Focus is

a must.

Recognize the main point of the utterances, and write it

down fast in short (can be by abbreviating them or just

write some important words in the limited time). It is

impossible for the interpreters to write long sentences.

That will be a waste of time. Some interpreters make a

note in the target language and some others in the source

language and translate it directly while they are

producing the interpretation and taking a look at their

note for some time. Others mix the languages (SL and TL)

in their note. We shall choose which one we feel

convenient with. Sometimes, the interpreters may get

stuck retrieving the information from their memory about

the equivalent of a certain word in TL. If this happens,

it is necessary to just write the SL and when the time

comes to give the interpretation and we still forget,

just use descriptive sentences.

As soon as the next sentence uttered by the speaker, jot

down the other and supporting points.

Then, draw lines to connect the points.

Remember to note the specific information like numbers.

Date, address, proper nouns etc.

The following diagram shows the connection drawn between

the main topic and sub-topic and another sub-topic. This is

how the mind mapping works. Circle the mind topic and draw a

line to another point. Arranging the information is very

important. Drawing the connections make it easier to formulate

the sentences during the interpretation is produced on the

spot.

The diagram is taken from http://www.writingthoughts.com)

The following diagram shows a further example of how the

mind mapping works in note taking. The main point is circled

the lines and drawn to connect one point with another point is

helpful to show how the things work related to the information

uttered.

(The diagram is taken from http://coachmi.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/mind-maps)

We have discussed why note taking is important, the

advantages and the steps in note taking. We also have

discussed about the power of mind mapping in note taking.

However, we should remember that every theory needs a practice

as the saying: practice makes perfect. Theories may different

from reality. Therefore the more practice the better the

result will be.

4.3 A Review on the Practice of Consecutive Interpreting in

Translation Class

This section reviews the practice of interpreting

conducted by Legal Group of Translation students of Udayana

University Class of 2012 conducted in April 2013. There are four

groups and each group consists of six peoples each. The mode

of interpreting used is consecutive and almost all members of

the groups did note taking during the interpretation process.

The use of note taking was proven to be very beneficial since

human has limited ability to do multi tasks at once which

include registering information, comprehending the meaning,

arranging or mapping that information, thinking about the

lexical choice while remembering another message, connecting

it with the previous message (when needed) and producing the

interpretation.

The information such as numbers, date, proper names and

any other difficult and complicated messages are very needed

to be noted in consecutive interpreting. Every student has

his/her own ways in doing note taking. This is related to how

they process the information in their brain. Some people are

born with a good ability to memorize; some are born with a

good analysis. The combination of both would be very helpful.

As stated above, mind mapping will enhance the power of brain

in arranging the information in our mind. From the practices,

not all the students knows about the theory of mind mapping

but all of them could do note taking. Some who know about mind

mapping may find easier way in note taking.

From the practices conducted in the class by the four

groups in eight section (one group divided into two section),

some important points are noted. Those are; (1) when producing

the interpretation we pay attention to the language style.

Recognize the audience and adjust the language style and

formality with them. The use of slang is avoided in formal

settings, (2) when producing the interpretation, eye contact

to the audience is necessary. The last (3) in case of the

interpreter mention a terminology but doesn’t clearly explain

it and if we know about it, we can give the audience brief

information as long as the additional information that we give

is not confusing and is not contradicting. The interpreter may

give some additional information for the sake of making the

interpretation clearer. As long as it doesn’t create

misunderstanding and confusion it is acceptable.

5. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion

The strategy applied by the interpreters is note taking and

mapping the mind power to obtain interpretation. As mentioned

in the beginning of this paper, interpreting is not an easy

task to do. It requires a complex knowledge, skills, and

experience. Note taking in consecutive interpreting is

important and helpful because it helps the interpreting during

the work. It helps the interpreters remember certain

information and organize their interpretation. The tense, and

loads mixed with the overlapping cognitive process in the

interpreters’ brain require them to use sufficient techniques

according to the level of difficulty of the topic.

In the note taking techniques, mind mapping plays a very

important part. It will help the information in our brain flow

well. Much information which is not arranged well in our brain

will confuse our system and of course we will spend much

energy to deal with this confusion. Interpreting is a tiring

job; we have to use our energy efficiently.

5.2 Suggestion

Some suggestions on consecutive interpreting especially

for the students in translation class are:

It is good to know and try that mind mapping is

important in note taking in consecutive interpreting.

When producing the interpretation pay attention to the

language style. Recognize the audience and adjust the

language style and formality with them. The use of

slang is avoided in formal settings.

When producing the interpretation, eye contact to the

audience is necessary.

In case of the interpreter mention a terminology but

doesn’t clearly explain it and if we know about it, we

can give the audience a brief information as long as

the additional information that we give is not

confusing and is not contradicting.

Focus is a must in interpreting. Once we get loss, it

may affect to the next information in the case where

the previous information relates with the next one.

Relaxing mind during the work and don’t let other

things distract our concentration.

Apart from the language competence that the

interpreters should have, they should also care about

the code ethics in interpreting.

The knowledge about the subject matter is very

important. Therefore, it is good to get to know the

topic or if possible the copy material prior to the

work.

Preparation and experience will contribute almost sixty

percent of confidence.

The last but not least, practice makes perfect. The

more practice, the better the interpretation will be.

REFERENCE

Hanh, Pham Hong. 2006. Note-Taking in Consecutive Interpreting. HanoiUniversity of Foreign Studies

Hatim, Basil and Mason, Ian. 1999. The Translator as Communicator.Routledge: NewYorkhttp://interpreters.free.fr/consecnotes/symbolexamples2.htm

Ingemann, Marcus. The Power of Mind Mapping. FortuneWell.com

Pochhacker, Franz. 2004. Introducing Interpreting Studies. New York:Routlegde Taylor and Francis Group.

Santiago, R. 2004. Consecutive Interpreting: A Brief Review. Available athttp://home.earthlink.net/~terperto/id16.html

Seleskovitch, D. 1978. Interpreting for International Conferences.Washington, DC: Pen & Booth.

Smith, F. 1985. Reading Without Nonsense. New York: NY Teacher’sCollege Press

Wang, Binhua. 2009. Description of Standards in Interpreting and ItsApplication – A Study Based on the Corpus of Consecutive Interpreting inChinese Premier Press Conferences [D]. PhD dissertation, GuangdongUniversity of Foreign Studies